E. Asia will benefit from Korea peace: Kim

By Amit Baruah

SINGAPORE, NOV. 27. The South Korean President and Nobel laureate, Mr. Kim Dae-jung, today said peace on the Korean peninsula would lead to peace in East Asia.

``There is a close relationship between prosperity on the Korean peninsula and prosperity in East Asia,'' Mr. Kim said while delivering the annual Singapore lecture on ``How Peace on the Korean Peninsula Will Affect East Asia''. In response to questions after the lecture, he said it was up to the U.S. President, Mr. Bill Clinton, to decide whether or not he would visit North Korea.

The South Korean leader said it was clear that Mr. Clinton would have to take into account the domestic situation in his country before deciding on what could be a historic trip to Pyongyang. Mr. Kim revealed that when he met Mr. Clinton on the sidelines of the APEC meeting in Brunei, the American President had asked him about the trip to North Korea. The South Korean President said his response had been the same. The President was at pains to emphasise that if Mr. Clinton did finally decide to make the trip to Pyongyang, he would fully support the visit.

The South Korean leader stated that from his perspective, the North Korean missile issue needed to be resolved. Asked when the rapprochement process between the North and the South would lead to arms reduction, Mr. Kim said it was ``difficult to say when'' but that was the direction in which the two countries were headed. Referring to the need to expand exchanges so as to strengthen understanding and trust between the Korean people, Mr. Kim said tension reduction was a step towards durable peace. According to Mr. Kim, the Defence Ministers of the two countries had met and a second meeting was proposed at which the issue of setting up hot lines, prior information on troop movements and visits by military observers could take place. He stressed that patience, consistency and sincerity were a must in such a process.

In his address, the President said: ``A project to relink the inter-Korean railway is being undertaken as part of inter-Korean economic cooperation. A new highway is also under construction linking the South to Kaesong city, north of the Demilitarised Zone, where an industrial complex will be built.'' ``The South and North have also worked out a draft agreement on the protection of investments, prevention of double taxation, clearance of accounts, and settlement of business disputes. Inter-Korean relations in societal and cultural areas are also being improved. They include the joint entry into the opening of the Sydney Olympic Games by athletes from the South and North as well as cultural events and tourism,'' he stated. According to the President, improvement in inter-Korean relations and a peace settlement would provide East Asian nations with numerous economic opportunities. ``North Korea has economic problems such as limited social overhead capital. But it has an excellent labour force, natural resources and beautiful tourist destinations.''

``Because of its geographical location, it is a gateway that could provide us with great economic opportunities in the three north-eastern provinces of China, Russia's maritime province of Siberia, Mongolia and Central Asia....'' he said. Speaking of the problems encountered by him in the peace process after the announcement of his ``sunshine policy'' in December 1998, Mr. Kim said the initial North Korean reaction was ``very negative''. ``Unlike my predecessors, I encouraged the United States and Japan to engage in dialogue with Pyongyang and give it badly needed economic assistance. At the same time, I asked all members of the international community to open diplomatic ties with North Korea and start friendly exchanges with it,'' he stated.

Mr. Kim said he stressed that the South did not want to absorb the South as West Germany had done to East Germany. In any case, the South did not have the resources to do so at the moment. ``I made it clear that it is imperative for the two Koreas to set up a system of peaceful co-existence and interaction.'' During his June visit to Pyongyang, the North gave up its position of setting up a centralised federal Government fist, and instead proposed a loose form of federation. Consistent with the South's position this, in Mr. Kim's view, seemed to be ``good common ground from which the two sides can start negotiating eventual reunification''.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : International
Previous : Yugoslavia admitted to OSCE
Next     : A saga of infamy comes to an end